Delay in Announcement of Dearness Allowance Hike from January 2015

Since the implementation of the recommendations of the 4th central pay commission in 1986, the announcement of approval and the order for granting Dearness Allowance to government employees were issued in March and September itself until it was violated once under UPA regime. In 2013, the approval for granting DA hike due from January 2013 was delayed inordinately. All the central government employees had waited patiently up to 31st March 2013. Even 1st and 2nd week of April 2013, there was no signs announcing the DA hike by the Central government. Then, the federations like AIRF and Confederation of central government employees and workers have raised objection over the inordinate delay of announcing DA. And they wrote letters to the Central Government to declare the Dearness Allowance immediately to avoid the confrontation.

While briefing the situation, the Confederation of central government employees and workers has mentioned in the editorial of their blog on 17th April 2013 that ‘This naturally is quiet disturbing, especially in the time of galloping price line. The employees have, in the past, fought bitterly for grant of DA and the 3rd CPC gave a definite formula for DA in the aftermath of the one day strike on 19th September 1968. We cannot allow the hard won DA to be tampered with.’

The next day, ie on 18th April 2013 the union cabinet approved the DA hike which is due from January 2013.

This time the NDA Government started repeating the same story in its first year itself. As we mentioned earlier the DA hike from July 2014 has been announced unexpectedly on 4th September 2014. So there was huge expectation this time that the present government would not make any delay in announcing the Payment dearness allowance from January 2015. But it seems that the government finds no time to take any decision over the issue of 50 Lakh Central government employees and Pensioners. Whether the central government expects the federations to plead for announcing DA hike? Or it really has no time to decide on this issue?

However, yesterday the Ministry of Finance issued a clarification dated 1st March 2015, in which it has been clarified that a fake order for payment of Dearness Allowance was being circulated in Government Departments/offices and all Ministries/Departments and Central Government offices were advised not to take cognisance of these fake instructions being circulated in Government offices.

To avoid confusion and frustration among central government employees, it is expected that the central government should announce its approval for Payment of Dearness Allowance from January 2015 immediately.